1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention lies within the fields of integral contoured toilet seats and flushing rim combinations.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In the process of depositing human excrement in a toilet bowl and/or immediately thereafter, portions of either or both the liquid and solid fecal matter may be deposited on the inner sidewall of the toilet bowl.
When such deposits are above the stationary water level in the toilet bowl, noxious, foul-smelling odors are produced by the combined effects of the bacterial activity typically found in human excrement and by the continuing decomposition activity of the fecal and ureic mixtures and combinations.
To prevent the accumulation of undesirable odors, it is necessary to remove the odor-causing excrement from the sidewall of the toilet bowl. Most often this is accomplished by mechanically scraping the sidewall clean of such deposited matter with a toilet brush or the like. However, in penal institutions and other similaer public institutions, this is not conveniently possible and is, in fact, highly undesirable since such brushes can oftentimes be modified into man-endangering weapons should they fall into the hands of the inmates of such institutions.
The use of chemical substances and abrasive substances such as cleansers generally must be utilized in combination with a brush, or similar scrubbing device, to be reasonably effective. In addition, many chemical and abrasive substances are mildly or strongly toxic to humans when inhaled or eaten, and therefore, are rarely, if ever, desirable or acceptable for this purpose when used by the inmate himself.
To permit frequent custodial maintenance by a non-inmate is inconvenient, costly and increases the probability, as well as the possibility, of a breach of penal, or institutional, security.
A unique and novel solution to the problem of preventing or/and removing the accumulation of odor-causing substances from the sidewall of the toilet bowl is to provide a means for periodically washing the above-the-water or unsubmerged surface of the sidewall by means of a relatively high velocity concentrated sheet or stream of water. Such may be accomplished by means of an integral toilet seat and flushing rim combination. When the toilet is flushed the forceful action of the high-velocity water clears the sidewall of odor-producing substances.
Numerous attempts have been made to develop an integral toilet seat and flushing rim combination which is capable of fully washing all areas of the toilet bowl sidewall disposed above the normal, standing water level in the toilet bowl. Much of this activity has centered around toilets which are constructed from eye-appealing and long-lasting stainless steel, rather than easily damaged ceramic materials. For the most part, ceramic toilet fixtures are inadequate for the durable service required for penal institutions.
All previous attempts to develop a toilet seat and flushing rim combination have resulted in an unacceptable product for one or more of the following reasons:
First of all, all previous seat-rim combinations possessed flat seat tops and were not contoured for user comfort and ease of elimination.
Secondly, at least one seat-rim combination employed a number of small perforations annularly rimming the underside of the seat-rim to serve as exit ports for the water used for flushing. The perforations were also disposed away from the sidewall of the toilet bowl on the flat surface of the underside of the seat-rim. When the toilet was flushed, the water would enter the hollow, annular seat-rim and subsequently exit through the perforations on the underside of the seat-rim. Due to the fact that the perforations were both disposed away from the wall and resided on a flat surface, the flushing water failed to wash and clean a significant portion of of the toilet bowl sidewall immediately adjacent to the point at which the underside of the seat-rim joined or merged with the substantially vertical sidewall.
One reason for disposing the small perforations away from the toilet bowl sidewall was to prevent them from being plugged during the brazing or welding process. Typically the outer edge of the annular rim of the underside portion of the seat-rim was joined to the toilet bowl sidewall by either welding or brazing. If the small perforations were drilled or punched too closely to the seat-rim edge which was brazed or welded to the sidewall, plugging or blocking of many or all of the perforations would occur.
Consequently, a compromise was effected by moving the small perforations away from the outer edge of the annular rim of the underside portion of the seat-rim.
Thirdly, one attempt to solve the combined problems of plugging or blocking the perforations and of failing to completely wash all sidewall areas, involved the locating of the perforations substantially in the middle of an upwardly-curving radius circumferencially disposed and formed along the outer annular portion of the underside of the seat-rim. The outer edge of the radiused portion was brazed or welded or otherwise joined to the sidewall of the toilet bowl for support.
By locating the perforations on the radius, a substantially greater portion of the sidewall is washed as the exiting water is directed outwardly in a radial fashion towards the sidewall and not merely vertically downward during the flushing cycle.
However, this solution was also, nevertheless, unacceptable because a V-like groove was effectively formed immediately beneath the point at which the seat-rim edge is welded or brazed to the toilet bowl sidewall creating an area wherein fouling can occur and thereby cause or produce odors, because this area was not washed during the flushing process.
Fourthly, another problem encountered in prior seat-rim combinations involved the retention of an amount of flushing water within the hollow flushing rim. Such water can also become foul and noxious-smelling and serve as a repository for undesirable bacterial growth.